Curiosity Killed Sesshoumaru
by LadyNightRunner
Summary: No, not really, but it certainly comes close. the chapters within contain the mischief and toruble Sesshy gets into in Kagome's time! Bath tubs, chocolate disasters, car trouble, nosy cats and more.
1. Bath Time

"Y'know, considering how bad you two wanted to come along, you're certainly taking FOREVER!" Kagome growled.

"Coming Lady Kagome. As soon as I'm untangled that is."

"Me too!" Shippo called. Kagome turned around, and discovered why these two companions were taking awhile in catching up to her, Sango, and InuYasha. Miroku and Shippo had somehow managed to get hopelessly tangled in some vines on the side of the path. Laughing, she and Sango went back to help the pair.

"Honestly, I don't see how you two manage to get into situations like this. Come on, the well is really close."

"How can you tell?" Shippo asked.

"Shippo, how many times have I gone through that thing?"

"A lot?"

"Exactly. A lot. And _that_ means that I just know, okay?"

"Okay." The next five minutes were spent in relative silence, until the well came into view.

"Yes! We're here. InuYasha quit that."

"Quit what?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"Quit sneaking up behind Shippo. Shippo, come here, and bring Kiara with you." The young demon obeyed, Kiara at his side. "Okay. Shippo, hang onto Kiara, so she can help you get out of the well on the other side. Go on, jump." Shippo, who had been terribly excited a moment ago, stood on the lip of the well, staring nervously into its depths. Kiara, apparently eager to be gone, leaned in towards the well, and dragged Shippo in with a startled cry. Kagome laughed. "And I thought I knew everything about that little cat."

"I don't think we'll _ever_ know everything." Sango said.

"You're probably right. Sango, go after Miroku. InuYasha and I will follow." The demon slayer and the monk hopped in. There was only one hitch. InuYasha, impatient to get to Kagome's time and the promise of ramen, he leaped in immediately after Sango, hauling Kagome into his arms as she shrieked in protest. As a result, Sango and Miroku did _not _have enough time to get out of the well. Yells of pain and surprise echoed from the well as InuYasha and Kagome landed on Miroku and Sango. Hard. "InuYasha you idiot! SIT BOY!" Kagome and the others climbed out of the well, then waited until a grumpy InuYasha appeared.

"The floor of the well is rock." He growled. Kagome shrugged.

/Meanwhile, in InuYasha's time/ Sesshoumaru was busy, tracking his little brother. After a series of events, including several humiliating defeats at InuYasha's hand, he'd come to the conclusion that it would be in his best interests to make amends with his younger brother and cross over to his side. After all, he'd had to deal with demons after the whelp several times himself, because they were too stupid to tell the difference between them. And, of course, there was Naraku, who'd played him for a fool more than once. No more. Also, he'd heard that Kagome had sweet, sugary treats from her home that were absolute heaven to one's palate. He didn't want to admit it, but when it came down to it, Sesshoumaru had quite a sweet tooth.

Following InuYasha and the others was easy. Each member of the group had a distinctive scent, whether it was Kagome's flowery perfume, InuYasha's pine and rain-washed earth, Sango's delicate peach, Miroku's mint, or Shippo's honey and grass. Even Kiara had a smell, strong catnip and the mint she loved to roll in. Yes, even if he was blind and had a cold he could have followed them, the combined scents were so strong. Unbeknownst to him, Sesshoumaru also left a distinct and rather out of place scent; a tangy citrus smell. The scents stopped abruptly at the old well that had sat in the forest as long as he could remember. Sesshoumaru leaned over and sniffed delicately at the slight updraft wafting out of the darkness below. Sure enough, the smell was coming from there, along with a multitude of others that he couldn't place. Some were pleasant, like roasting meat, running water, and grass. Others were foul and sulfurous, promising nasty consequences if tasted. The thought of tasting the sweets Kagome had was tempting in itself, but venturing into the well wasn't something he wanted to do. He sat with his back against the well for a while, until something happened that convinced him completely to jump in. A sweet scent, reminiscent of honey, but only just, wafted out of the well. Sesshoumaru's mouth watered. He didn't care what it took to do it; he had to taste the source of that smell.

/Kagome's house again/ "Mom! We're here!" Kagome called.

"Oh good. Now, everyone come-wait. InuYasha, shoo."

"What?"

"You heard me. You look like you haven't washed in months!"

"He hasn't." The others chorused.

"Why would I? I don't need to."

"Yes you do. And you aren't coming in until you have. Kagome, I don't suppose you could…?"

"Wash him?"

"Yes dear. I've got a big metal tub you can put him in."

"Naked? Mom, you can't be serious!"

"No, I still have those shorts…you know, the ones Hojo left when you ran him off. He can put those on."

"Fine. You get those, I'll talk to him."

"Would you stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

"Okay. InuYasha, I'm going to give you a bath in the backyard. You aren't going to fight me, understand? If you do, you aren't getting any ramen, and I'll use the 's' word so many times you'll get to shake hands with the tap root of the oak tree out back." InuYasha hung his head, knowing that he didn't stand a chance. Besides, he desperately wanted his ramen.

"Okay." He mumbled, defeated. Kagome's mother showed up, bearing a pair of swim trunks in an eye-smarting shade of blue in one hand.

"Here. Put these on. Miroku, help me get the tub out."

/Fifteen minutes later/ "Okay! InuYasha, come here!" A thoroughly embarrassed InuYasha slunk out of the bushes. (Not going into details here. Let's just say that the bath was uneventful, though InuYasha managed to get soap in his eyes, and to lose the rather baggy shorts when he was finally allowed to climb, soaking wet and irritated, out of the tub to be hosed down)

"Whoa!" _'Thud'_

"What on earth was that?" Shippo, sent by Sango, went to investigate the sound, which had come from the well house.

"Aaaagh! Kaaagooooomeeee! It's Sesshoumaruuuuu!" Shippo screamed. Kagome was in the shrine in an instant, bow drawn. She had expected to find the pesky demon trying to get Shippo to shut up, possibly with threats of violence. Instead, she found the youkai dragging himself out of the well, dusty, a bit bruised, and looking quite surprised.

"What do you want?" she asked. Shippo, having regained the power of motion, shot out the door.

"I came to seek an alliance with my brother and…"

"And what?"

"Never mind."

"And _what_ Sesshoumaru?"

"And see if the rumors were true." He looked down at his feet.

"What rumors?"

"That you have some kind of sweets that are wonderful." He said hopefully.

"Who told you that?"

"Some children in a village you stayed in."

"Okay, I understand that. Why do you want an alliance with InuYasha?"

" Because it's a better idea than going up against him. I have no intention of losing my arm again."

"Got it. Come on, let's go inside. You can meet my mother, we'll talk to InuYasha, and I'll see what I can do about that candy. But I'm warning you; start a battle with that brother of yours, and I'll do more than remove your arm." Sesshoumaru nodded, and followed Kagome out of the shrine and into the bright sunlight beyond. Things went okay until they reached the back door. Kagome's mother took one look at Sesshoumaru, still rather grubby from his landing in the well, and handed Kagome the shorts, soap, and shampoo that they'd just had out for InuYasha.

"But mom-" Kagome began.

"But nothing. Give him a bath, or he isn't setting foot in my house."

"Yes mom. C'mon Sesshy."

"What did you call me?"

"Sesshy. It's better than that mouthful you call a name, and I can say it easier. Put these on." She handed him the shorts.

"What are these?"

"Shorts. When I come back over here, they had better be all that you're wearing."

"All that I'm- but, Lady Kagome I-"

"Do you want the sweets you've heard about or not?"

"Y-yes. May I inquire as to why I have to wear these?"

"My mom wants you washed before you come in, so I'm going to wash you. Deal with it." Kagome stomped around to where the tub sat, and filled it. "Are you done?" she called when the tub was full.

"I am."

"Then get over here." Getting forced into bathing InuYasha's older brother was _not_ something Kagome had wanted to do. Red with embarrassment, the Lord of the Western Lands obeyed, coming to stand beside Kagome and the tub.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked.

"Just get in the tub." Sesshoumaru did, sinking up to the middle of his chest in the water. Kagome soaped up a bath pouf and told him to lean forward so she could scrub his back. It was about this time that InuYasha, having eaten his ramen, came outside to find Kagome. He had not expected to find her washing his brother. He grinned. Oh, revenge was sweet, and Sesshoumaru deserved a bit of humiliation.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru! Did her mother say you were too dirty to come inside!" he yelled. Sesshoumaru swore.

"Sesshoumaru, if I catch you saying something like that again, I'll wash your mouth out with soap." Kagome warned.

"What's the matter brother? Too afraid to come after me?" Sesshoumaru responded with several unprintable things. Kagome scowled.

"InuYasha, shame on you for provoking him! SIT! Sesshoumaru, I did warn you." Sesshoumaru then discovered how awful it was to have one's mouth washed out with soap. "Now, hold still, and close your eyes." The demon held still, but refused to close his eyes. Kagome, unaware of this, began shampooing his hair. Very soon…

"Aaaagh! My eyes! What did you do to me! Owowowowow! I'm blind! I'll kill you for this, girl!" Sesshoumaru howled, rubbing frantically at his eyes. He only succeeded in rubbing more soap into them. InuYasha was, by this time, rolling on the ground laughing, which only made Sesshoumaru more upset.

"Calm down Sesshy, it's okay-"

"How can it be okay when I can't see!"

"It's just shampoo. Hold on a sec, and I'll try to help." All in all, it took Kagome the better part of ten minutes to rinse a majority of the soap out of the big youkai's eyes. She finished shampooing his hair, and then ushered him out of the tub and onto the concrete slab that served as a porch so she could hose him off. This done, she gave him a brisk towel-drying and gave him back his clothes, which her mother had washed (Note: the bath itself took over an hour, what with the arguing and the soap problems.) When he was curled in an oddly cat-like ball on the couch with the sweets he'd been incessantly pestering about, Kagome went back outside and gave InuYasha a good lecture on manner, punctuated every few sentences by 'sit'. When the hanyou was thoroughly apologetic, she hauled him back into the house and refereed a negotiation between the bothers. Maybe having Sesshoumaru around wouldn't be so bad.

/After dinner/ "Mom, where did Sesshoumaru go?"

"I think he's out in the backyard." Kagome went out by way of the front door. As she rounded the corner to the backyard, she found an oddly touching scene before her. Sesshoumaru was allowing Sota and Shippo to use him as a living, moving jungle gym. She grinned. Yes, having Sesshoumaru around was going to be…interesting.


	2. Car Trouble

Okay, I finally fixed this. Timothy and Lilly have become Hideki and Kasumi. Thanks for telling me!

* * *

Kagome sighed. It had been two days since the bath incident, and they were planning a trip to the beach. Shippo, Sota, and Miroku were excited. Kiara was hiding under the couch. Sango wasn't sure if she liked the idea of the bikini Kagome had given her to wear. InuYasha and Sesshoumaru were ignoring the commotion, sitting up in a tree to avoid Sota and Shippo, and discussing what they knew about Naraku. Kagome was in the middle of everything, coaxing Hojo to provide transportation, assuring Sango that the bikini looked great, telling the little ones to calm down, and trying to collect the things they were taking along.

"Guys, can you all get in here so I can get a quick headcount and figure out who's riding with who?"

"I'll go catch Sota and Shippo." Sango offered.

"Miroku, get Kiara out from under there, and get in here. InuYasha! Sesshoumaru! GET IN HERE!" Within ten minutes, they were all assembled. "Okay. Counting Hojo, there are 8 of us. I can-"

"Hey, Kagome, Hideki's girlfriend called. She says she'll drive if you want to keep an eye on your group." Hojo said, waving the phone at her.

"Great. Tell her that'll work great!"

"Got it. Kasumi, Kagome said that sounds fine. Five minutes? Awesome. See you then." He hung up.

"Okay. Kasumi can take five, and Hojo's-"

"Kagome! Satoru's mom called and said she'll take me'n Shippo! Can we take Kiara?"

"Yes, you can. That leaves six of us, so…Sesshoumaru and Miroku, you two will come with Kasumi and me. InuYasha, you and Sango will go with Hojo."

"Why am I getting stuck with InuYasha?" Sango wanted to know.

"Because, if I put you with Miroku, you'll probably kill him before we get to the beach. If I put InuYasha and Sesshoumaru together, who knows what will happen. If you and Kasumi are in the same car…well…let's just hope that doesn't happen."

"Kagome, change of plans. Hideki is going to drive. Kasumi has to watch her little sister."

"Okay, fine. Oh, look. There he is now." A white pickup pulled into the driveway. Out hopped a tall blonde, waving and motioning at the truck.

"Come _on_! What are you guys waiting for? Do you want me to _carry_ you to the car?" Laughing, Kagome herded a rather reluctant Sesshoumaru and an excited Miroku into the truck. Seating was as follows: Drivers seat-Hideki. Passenger seat- Miroku. Behind driver- Kagome. Behind passenger- Sesshoumaru.

"Lady Kagome, are you sure this thing is safe?" Sesshoumaru asked, tapping the window curiously.

"Yes Sesshy, I'm sure."

"If you say so." Sesshoumaru mumbled, and fell quiet. Miroku, however, was far from silent. He chattered incessantly, wanting to know all about a teenage boy's life in this time, how the truck worked, and if there would be many beautiful women at the beach. Hideki answered as best he could.

The drive to the beach was a long one, as Kagome told everyone before hand. About half an hour into it, she noticed that Sesshoumaru was acting a bit strange. He wasn't being as quiet as before. A soft, low whine was coming from him.

"Sesshoumaru? Is something wrong?" Kagome asked.

"I…I'm not feeling well…Lady Kagome," he answered haltingly, eyes still fixed on the scenery outside.

"Not feeling well how?"

"My stomach is…is bothering me." He murmured. Kagome was about to respond when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kagome, it's Hojo. We've got a slight problem here."

"Problem how?"

"InuYasha isn't feeling too good. Says he has a stomachache. We're going to slow down, maybe stop for a minute or two. You guys keep going, and we'll catch up."

"Okay, see you at the beach."

"Got it." Kagome hung up.

"What was that about?" Hideki wanted to know.

"Oh, InuYasha isn't feeling well. Hojo said that they're going to stop for a bit, but for us to keep going."

"Okay then." Hideki turned his attention back to the road, and Kagome turned hers back to Sesshoumaru. He looked utterly miserable, clutching his stomach and slumping down in his seat.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"What is it?"

"Do you want to stop?"

"I don't wish to deprive you of your trip."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"As I said before…my stomach is bothering me."

"Are you going to throw up?" Sesshoumaru nodded unhappily.

"I-I think so."

"Stop the car!" Kagome said quickly. Hideki did, pulling over onto the side of the road. Sesshoumaru struggled with the door for a moment, and then got it open and scrambled onto the grass. Kagome was right behind him.

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

"I think he- Eeeep!" Sesshoumaru settled the matter by falling onto all fours and throwing up.

"You think he's carsick, right?"

"Mmmm…well…kind of." Kagome responded, delicately pulling the ill youkai's hair out of his face.

"Kind of how?"

"I should have thought of this before. Hojo told you about what he is, right?"

"Right."

"Have you ever seen a dog who could ride in a car with the windows up? I think that's what was wrong with InuYasha too, only it's worse for Sesshoumaru because he's a pureblood. Poor guy."

"Then we should keep the windows down. That always worked with my dog." He patted Sesshoumaru's shoulder sympathetically. "For me too, now that I think about it." He added thoughtfully.

"Good idea. Sesshoumaru? Are you feeling better now?"

"I think I should stay out here for a little longer."

"Okay." Kagome pulled out her cell phone. "Hojo? Keep the windows down, and InuYasha should feel better." They stayed on the side of the road for the next ten minutes, and then drove off again, all windows rolled fully down. Sesshoumaru spent the rest of the trip with his head in Kagome's lap. Later, Sango said she ended up with InuYasha doing the same thing with her.

"So Kagome, what have we learned today?" Hideki asked, grinning.

"Dog demons and long, hot car rides do _not_ go well together."

"Very good."

"I'll definitely remember this in the future. I'm sorry Sesshoumaru."

"It's all right Lady Kagome. Are you sure you don't mind me doing this?"

"Of course not. InuYasha does it sometimes, when he's tired or hurt. Mind if I do this?" She ran her fingers gently through his hair.

"Not at all."


End file.
